Ebbsfleet United 3-1 Wrexham - I owe a lot to my team mates, says relieved Opinel

Despite the Kent side having the better of the first half, Wrexham grabbed the lead when much-travelled striker Jefferson Louis punished a horrendous blunder from Fleet left-back Sacha Opinel to score his fifteenth goal of the season after 52 minutes.

But that proved to be the kick up the backside the Kent heroes needed, and they levelled just four minutes later through Guiseppe Sole’s slick finish.

Home-grown striker Luke Moore wished he had been swallowed up by the pitch when his 61^st minute penalty was saved, but he made amends with a stunning finish fourteen minutes later before John Martin scored on his home debut with seven minutes remaining.

The Fleet now lock horns with Stevenage Borough in a two-legged semi-final, the first leg being away on 14^th March, before the return leg at Stonebridge Road seven days later.

And on this passionate display, the Fleet are destined to return to Wembley Stadium in May and replicate their heroics last May when Torquay United were beaten 1-0.

Remember, The Fleet dumped Burton Albion (after a replay), Aldershot Town and Torquay United en-route to their Wembley triumph from last season’s quarter-final stage and tonight knocked out yet another giant.

Moore was one of two changes made by the Fleet, following Saturday’s goal-less draw at The Racecourse Ground, as he replaced Ricky Shakes, who was relegated to the bench, and the other change saw Mark Ricketts, who came in for the unfortunate Craig Stone, who broke his leg in the first game.

Wrexham boss Dean Saunders brought back his big guns for tonight’s replay, making four changes, but the Fleet heroes made them look very ordinary indeed.

The Kent side started brightly and created the first chance inside the opening seven minutes when Sole rolled a right-footed shot into Gavin Ward’s arms at the near post, after a slick move ending in Mark Ricketts and Moore combining down the right.

Two minutes later, Stacy Long capitalised on a mistake from Wrexham central defender Ashley Westwood, but his shot was comfortably saved by Ward at the near post, after the midfielder cut in from the left.

Martin, who cannot play against his parent club Stevenage Borough in the semi-finals next month, was lucky to escape more than a booking, for an over-the-ball challenge on Mike Williams after seventeen minutes.

A disappointing Wrexham created their first half chance after 22 minutes after Leon Crooks bundled Williams over just outside the Fleet penalty area. Jon Brown, wearing the number 40 shirt, drilled the resulting free-kick right-footed into the wall, and Louis sent a right-footed half volley over the crossbar.

With the Kent side playing well, they went closer on the half-hour mark. Mark Ricketts’ throw caused panic and this was flicked on by Michael Gash and the ball dropped to Moore, whose acrobatic right-footed effort, over his shoulder, dropped agonisingly past the foot of the right-hand post.

Switching from a 4-4-2 formation to 4-3-3, Wrexham had no answer to the Fleet, with striker Gash dominant in the middle, with Sole and Moore either side.

Sense the despair, though, when Frenchman Opinel gifted Wrexham the lead, with their first shot on target, after 52 minutes.

Opinel intended to head the ball back to his goalkeeper Lance Cronin but got it all wrong as the ball bounced off his head and fell into Louis’ path, and the former Fleet striker drilled the shot past Cronin and into the bottom right-hand corner, to the delight of the 72 travelling supporters behind that goal at the Swanscombe End.

Opinel just wanted the Stonebridge Road pitch to swallow him up - but his excellent team-mates got him out of a hole as Sole’s second goal for the club, just four minutes later, sent the Kent club on their way to another famous victory.

Firstly, though, Moore was released in behind the Wrexham defence, but his left-footed shot was driven into the ground, allowing Ward to save comfortably.

But the Fleet showed exactly why their holders of the competition as Sole levelled as the Fleet upped the tempo and increased their passion.

A driving run forward from man-of-the-match Gash saw the striker poke the ball into Sole’s path, in behind the Wrexham defence, and he rolled the ball across Ward and into the bottom far corner, with his left-foot, sparking wild scenes of celebration.

It should have been even better for the Kent side when they were awarded a penalty after 61 minutes when Andy Crofts, on loan from Gillingham, brought down Neil Barrett as he cut into the box from the right.

But ecstasy turned to agony for the expectant Stonebridge Road faithful as Moore’s right-footed penalty brought a fine low diving save beside the right-hand post from Ward.

Opinel, urged on by team-mates and supporters alike, almost made amends in the 71^st minute, following Martin’s in-swinging corner from the right, but twice he was denied by goal-line clearances from Ashley Westwood.

But Moore definitely made amends when he gave Ebbsfleet United the lead, with a stunning strike just four minutes later.

Leon Crooks’ ball over the top of the Wrexham defence was won by Gash and his pass enabled Moore to crack a first time angled drive from 30-yards down the right, which screamed past Ward and into the near corner.

And giants Wrexham were sent crashing out of the competition, thanks to another stunning strike, this time from Martin, with seven minutes remaining.

Moore was the provider and Martin, who has personally won the FA Trophy twice, looped a right-footed shot over Ward and into the roof of the net from 25-yards.

All that stunned, out-played Wrexham could muster at the death were two scrambled efforts, which were grabbed by Cronin before crossing the line.

It should have been four, but Long, who rolled the ball across Ward and into the bottom far corner, had his injury time goal ruled out for handball - the wild celebrations had to wait a few extra moments.

The Fleet deserved their standing ovation at the final whistle - have we been in this situation before?

Opinel, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards, thanked his team-mates for getting him out of trouble, as he didn’t want to be blamed for the club’s exit, having tasted Wembley success last May.

“It was a big moment for me,” he said. “When I hit the ball, I wanted to give it to Lance, but it just hit the wrong part of my head.

“But I feel I let down the team really. But very surprisingly, for a long time, I didn’t feel that. All the boys said ‘come on, it’s not finished - it’s nothing.’

“Guiseppe saved a little bit of my life really, so I owe my team mates a lot really. The crowd was good with me really, they didn’t let me down after that, and I want to owe my team mates and the club something really.”

Opinel, who won his fair share of tackles during the game, added, “I was (relieved) as it was my mistake, it’s the quarter-final of the FA Trophy, if we lose the game you lose it’s my fault and I let the team down, the club down, the fans down and the last thing I don’t want is to let people down.

“The manager gave me a chance on the bench to try and get back into the team. My team-mates gave me back something to help me, to save me really, so I owe a lot to my team-mates tonight.”

Boss Liam Daish, who guided the club to their Wembley triumph last May, paid tribute to his heroic players.

“I think the game had everything, it had commitment, a bit of heartache, quality, passion, it had everything I thought,” Daish told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“Over the two games, we haven’t done this on a one-off, we’ve done it over two. We’ve earned the right to get them back here and then after having a little bit of a set-back, we’ve reacted superbly and scored three great goals.

“I thought we set our intentions right from the start. We had a right go at them - they’re a good side.”

At half-time, Daish told his players to “not get frustrated, keep going, keep believing, plug away and keep doing the right things.”

And he added, “We do it the hard way don’t we!”

“I was told they were going to bring the big guns back on Saturday in their bar - fair play.

“But I still think we had enough to look after them and cause them problems - and that’s what happened.”

When asked what was going through his mind, following Opinel’s howler, Daish replied, “I couldn’t really repeat that, but to be fair to him and to be fair to the lads they didn’t panic.

“It happened early on and they didn’t panic, they kept their shape, kept their discipline and Guiseppe went through and scored a great goal.

“We’re trying to get him a little bit close to (Michael) Gash. I felt Gash led the line unbelievably well and was in the mix right from the start.

“That’s his standard. If he does that he could go got a lot of money.”

Despite their detractors, Ebbsfleet United are a team full of honesty - and Daish agreed.

“We got that little bit of honesty back with us again and that team spirit, which honesty brings,” he added.

Stevenage Borough beware!

Ebbsfleet United: Lance Cronin, Mark Ricketts, Derek Duncan (Sacha Opinel 22), Leon Crooks, Darius Charles, Neil Barrett, John Martin, Stacy Long, Luke Moore (Ricky Shakes 86), Guiseppe Sole, Michael Gash.
Subs: Dean Pooley, Sam Mott, Matthew Judge.

Goals: Guiseppe Sole 56, Luke Moore 75, John Martin 83

Booked: John Martin 17

Wrexham: Gavin Ward, Sam Williamson, Mike Williams, Ashley Westwood, Neil Taylor, Ryan Flynn (Jamie McCluskey 79), Andy Fleming (Patrick Suffo 79), Andy Crofts, Jon Brown, Jefferson Louis, Marc Williams.
Subs: Wes Baynes, Darren Kempson, Nathan Fairhurst.

Goal: Jefferson Louis 52

Booked: Andy Fleming 39, Andy Crofts 60

Attendance: 992 (72 travelling supporters)
Referee: Mr Simon Beck
Assistants: Mr Nigel Lugg & Mr Michael Webb
Fourth Official: Mr Graham Atkins